Brendan Benson On World Cafe

Brendan Benson has spent the past decade and a half curating a distinct and exciting sound, but his ascent hasn't been a smooth one. His debut album, 1996's One Mississippi, is considered a power-pop classic, but it sold poorly at the time of its release. The Detroit singer-songwriter's next album, 2002's Lapalco, found a small but similarly intense fan base six years later, and Benson eventually landed a gig collaborating with Jack White in the supergroup The Raconteurs.

Benson has gone on to record three more solo records, including this year's What Kind of World, which came out in April. The album was Benson's first release on his own label, Readymade, which launched earlier this year. Here, he joins World Cafe host David Dye to talk about signing his first two acts — Young Hines and Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons — and play songs from his new album.